the galah

perhaps the biggest indicator of mr pinns regard for any of his fellow jockeys safety,was ...when asked if he had any submissions as regards the penalty after being found guilty,he said,he regarded the charge against him was a joke. his actions and his comments afterwards,to me are quite disturbing. those hearing that case should have imposed anger management as well. I say that from the perspective of what would assist mr pinn to race ride in a proper frame of mind.

I guess you are taking the piss. I suppose.

i see n40 racing had the first of its 3 high priced purchases from last years yearling sales,line up at the trials last week. The questions i have are ..is it normal for horses sold at nz yearling sales a year ago, to not change ownership officailly. ..And is it normal for the stipes to allow horses to start at trials,knowing that hrnz has the owner as someone who hrnz themselevs have publicised is not the owner and of course the stipes would have known that. I mean,maybe it is within the rules for hrnz to let horses start,when they obviously know the owners listed aren't correct.Will the stipes not only allow it to start at the trials,but can it race under ownership that sold it over a year ago. maybe someone can clarify what hrnz allow,i have read the rule . Is there some type of preferential treatment being shown for a big player,or does hrnz and the stipes allow all owners to run horses at trials and races,knowing the owners shown arenot the actual owners. . i note all 3 of the horses bought over a year ago at the sales by N40 racing, are still owned by the breeders who sold them at the sales,according to hrnz.

the harness 5000 concept. i understood that was the concept, where they have a raceday with 60,000 finals, for horses 3 years and older, whose sire was a stallion who had a stud fee that cost $5000 or less. so what your saying is, theres breeders out there who have factored in king of swings stud fee making their mares foals eligible, in a minimum of 4 years time ,for a one off race day,as the reason why they chose king of swing. look,hey,you may be right. But are breeders who actually thought like that being smart or just a bit gullible? Would they be the same breeders who bred to nz stallions 2 or 3 years ago on the promise they would be paid a 10% bonus for stakemoney earned when their progeny, by nz bred stallions,raced in years to come.Now scrapped. or would they be the same people who factored in their progeny getting paid $12,000 bonuses when they had their first 2 year old win. That also doesn't apply anymore. I don't really keep up with the different bonuses that get announced each year ,just the ones that are announced with much fanfare,but i've noted the obvious,some are quietly scrapped 2 or 3 years later,without any chance of those who factored them in the year they bred,ever getting a chance to have an opportunity to earn them. so ,while i don't want to put a dampener on anyone who may think the big stakes and the big bonuses will still be around in 4 years, shouldn't they at the very least use some common sense thinking and take a very cautious approach to such hrnz promises. yes,i know,mr steele has assured everyone that things are looking really positive and are on the right track and there will continue to be all this cash just sloshing around to be paid for the likes of bonuses,after the entain money has been spent,but wheres that money coming from and is that realistic thinking? i mean,for a stud it may be a good marketing ploy to promote the harness 5000 factor to breeders considering a sire,but have i missed something,as its it appears nothing more thanwishful think on the part of brrders. My guess would be,maybe there will be a harness 5000 in 4 years,maybe not,but the stakes will be reduced significantly if they still exist.

the first new zealand race starter,by king of swing is running on thursday at addington.Fanfare its name. its won each of its 4 trials so far,so looks promising. its a half brother to minstrel and some other handy horses. The dam is a mach three mare that it looks like the butts have bred 11 foals from the 16 yer old mare,so she already been a good producer. king of swing certainly a wonderful racehorse and seemingly very intelligent. will be interesting to see how fanfare goes. king of swing was $5000 plus gst last year in nz,$8000 plus gstin aussie. aussies obviously expected to pay the higher stud fee even though he's based there. Not sure how that works.

yes hrnz thinking has been,,because they're aren't many 2 year olds around to race, they need to encourage more and to achieve that the answer has been large bonuses,increased stakes and this year pay 90 of them $5000 just to start,even if they run a tailed off last. thats how hrnz think. its consistent with their thinking when it comes to north island harness racing. Up there they don't have enouigh horses to fill the fields, so HRNZ think the answer to that is more races. so theres that consistency in hrnz policy,that is ,the less horses you have available,the more racing you put on for them and the more you give them higher stakes to aim at. now clearly anyone can see that has not been working whatsoever and never made any sense in the first place,but they get points for consistency,even if its stupid. then hrnz's answer to the ATC financial worries is,don't worry,keep going as you are,because we've got your back and we will throw a few million into your financail hole,because we believe the population of auckland is going to all of a sudden have a change of heart and start supporting the harness product in auckland.And hrnz will budget $20m to build a training complex on a property that they don't even own. then HRNZ has said to cambridge,well,we know your in deep shit financially,but what does impress us is you only owe hrnz about 1.2-1.5 m,now thats pretty dam good when we compare you to ATC..So look,we know the slot races you ran added significantly to your debt,so hey,we have a solution to that. Lets have HRNZ run those slot races and take the financial hit,that way the good aussie horses can come and take even more nz harness indutsry money back to australia for their billionaire owners.. again pretty consistent thinking by hrnz. then there was nz sires bonuses. What they did there was say to people,breed to a nz sire and we will pay you bonuses when they race and win in years to come.But ,thers a catch,we may cancel those bonuses before you ever race.For unknown reasons,many seemed silly enough to think they may be getting a bonus for their foals sired by nz sires in the future,but no they wont,as very predictably, hrnz cancelled those. But your right brodie,not much point saying the same thing repeatedly as even we get tired of reading our own posts. as to the 2 year old race programmed for southalnd this week.My guess was they would get zero nominations. I based that on it appears they have no qualified 2 year old in southland yet. and the $12,000 stake.at addington. Points to hrnz at least showing some common sense by reducing the stake by 20% due to the small number of starters. But even a $12,000 stake seems ridiculous given it will generate no turnover whatsoever. It will be interesting to see whether the 20% is smoke and mirrors. In other words, will they be reducing the winning stakes by 20%,or is the 20% reduction just what would have come off anyway,due to not haveing any also rans to pay staring money. In other words ,unless they reduce the winning stakes,then they really are just playing with people.

i wonder how many they will get niminated for the southland 2 year old race. My guess is 0. we will see soon.

i see hrnz will take some comfort that numbers being nominated have increased for this weeks 3 x 2 year old races. this week they have a total of 10 nominations for the 3 races. 6 in the fillies race at auckland,0 in the colts and geldings race at auckland and 4 for the combined,colts,geldings and fillies race at addington. things are definitely on the up.

what i'm saying is you have all these people with really good business qualifications running things already. Have a look at the profiles on the hrnz website.They are some very well qualified poeple if you want successful business people. so you;'ve already got the type of person youv'e described you want running things. So is the answer not obvious, other capabilities and knowledge are also required to run harness racing. Harness racing is an industry unique to itself.

tennis semi final effecting betting figures? why would that be anymore of a factor than any sport.Just can''t see why a tennis semi final would have more impact than any warriors game or any rugby or cricket on at the same time on friday nights. I did notice today on trackside the off course and on course presenters talked about tennis for the last minute and a half of pre race talk twice for races. Personally i had no idea why they would spend the most importnat part of lead in coverage talking about tennis.Apparently venus williams still has a powerful forehand.Great. I do know shes only won 1 singles game in the last 6 tournaments shes played,but obviously the forehand gets the presenters more interested than the races they are previewing.. as to the quaddies. Todays quaddie had a $1,400 carry forward and the final pool was actual money invested. was the addington one over $20,000,or was it just the amount guaranteed by the tab on friday. most of the races today had higher win tote pools than the main race at addington on friday night.

that race was a good tactical battle. dixon obviously had a pre race plan to put a bit of pressure on kingman on the bends. kingman didn't hang like last week but still not 100% on the bends and every time leap to fame put a little prssure on kingman ,mccarthy would have to give himea bit of rein as soon as they hit thestart of the straights and then he would take hold of him again and he slightly over raced for a bit ,so each time he used just a bit more energy. it only told in that last 100m and it was then that leap to fame pounced.Dixon drove a very clever tactical race. Swayzee ran well,but simply the first 2 dictated the speed which meant swayzee never got into the race.

the thing is brodie,the people on the hrnz are all very successful,well qualified and have been part of governance in other areas that has proven successful,same as mr steele and mr peden. They too have good qualifications. So the industry has the people with the qualifications you said are needed,yet most aren't happy with the decision making. i don't agree with who you think should be in charge. I believe thats where hrnz have gone wrong. i believe they need people with a better understanding of nz harness racing,those who have lived and breathed the sport and who have in the past risen to positions of governance and have shown the capabilities to be in leadership roles.

i have read lots of what you have written over the years. Cleary you have a deep undertsanding of the whole indutsry.Knowledge of the nz industry and knowledge and understanding of its history and the drivers of where it is at today,are vitally important. As to mr peden and mr steele . I think your above comments too easily make excuses for poor decuision making.From what i have seen,both peden and steele are intelligent men who can think for themselves,even if i don't agree with much of what they say.If they are following someones agenda,then thats their decision to do so,no need to say its someone else driving it.. what they lack,is what i said in my first paragraph of this post,and thats the essential knowledge needed to guide the industry going forward,in my opnion.peden and steele seem detached from the real nz people,its not there fault in a way,as thats not there background. as to mr mooney.I may well have a previous interaction with him where i wasn't impressed in his response,,but certainly i think his work on that handicapping committee which he chaired produced work that made an awful lot of common sense. I think he too has valuable knowledge to contribute, as long forms of a team of people where people with other backgrounds and knowledge,who don't allow him or anyone person to push self indulgant agendas.The prioritising of the overall good of the indutrsy as a whole must always be first,not certain sectors given greater importance than others. Everyone within the indutsry should be made to feel part of the same team.In particular Grass roots up is how any organisation needs to be focussed.

so mr steeles been here about 18 months and people are guessing he can't even answer his own questions and hasn't worked out hes being poorly advised.Gee,if that were the case,then harness racing really is screwed it that i the calibre of the perosn in charge.pPerosnally i give him much more credit than that,efven if i don't agree with him. As to the board being ill advised. do people think they're that stupid they can't work things out themselves. Well bugga me.

So you think mr steele can't answer his own questions. thats funny anyone would think that.. besides,those people have differenr styles.Both confident,but different.You should read more of their press releases. unless of course,if peden is answering steeles questions like you suggest,then maybe steele is answering pedens questioins,hence theres the answer. for their different styles. Sounds like you think mr peden sneaks in while mr steels out of town,sits in the bosses chair,feet up,smoking a cigar answering his mail.

i thinl we need throw mr cook into the mix for consideration on the hrnz board. Shouldn't the Hrnz board have people who live and breath harness racing like mr cook who also has administrative experience.. only thing mr cook,when gamma said the leading northern trainers were getting lazy as they didn't have many starters this week,i'm sure he was just meaning to take the piss,so to speak. As to gamma and mr steele always saying. they need big stakes to attract the best horses and thats why they over inflate the industries big races. we all know thats a load of rubbish and the proof has been i watching who lines up where. Its been the same for years. as i pointed out last year,the victorian cup had the best field in australiasia and it was the first time they had slashed the stake to $250,000. the sames going to happen this year.republican party's going to run against swayzee,kingman and leap to fame again. last night they had a $175,000 race and the best 3 ran again. Yeah,the mega ,mega rich who own the likes of leap to fame,swayzee,kingman. The difference between them coming to nz is primarily based on just how high the stake is.If it was,why do they never actuallyn say that. Have you ever heard one of those owners moan about the victorian stake being slashed last year. No,you haven't.But administrators here seem to think thats how they think,for unknown reasons.

you misjudge me gammalite. Nothing you say i ever take personally or get frustrated over. I think i may frustrate you with some of the opinions i express and personally think that occasionally shows in your replies. But i never think you have any intent to make it personal or offend me.Thats not you sunshine. i totally disagree with that. i think the opposite. And of course i would say that because i agree with the points he continues to make about the financial aspects of governance of the sport.

Gee,if thats holding your line then how dangerous is it to be a jockey. everyone sees things different i suppose. The last time i commented on a jockey riding in a manner that i thought was dangerous was a couple of minutes after i watched a race at cambridge a couple of years ago which turned out to involve a fatality. .Only difference was today the jockey had more intent to put his rival onto heels whereas the cambridge one was a terrible misjudgment. i thought it just good luck pinns riding didn't cause any injuries to the horse it was knocking around or the others that would have gone over the top had it fallen. Today there was slight outward movement by the horse racing a length in front and just to their inside,but i still can't see why any jockey would have so little regard for a fellow jockeys safety,even if they weren't happy about being pushed out. That horse that pinn knocked around was very lucky not to clip heels and fall.

and i forgot to add,i would get mr unhinged to have be involved in the marketing strategies,what content appears on the hrnz website and give him a place on the board as well.

You know you've said the same above thing many times and its getting a bit silly now. Never once have i said i want north island harness racing or auckland racing to close.I don't think i've read where anyone has ever even said they want that. when someone says a business needs to restructure and run their business in a way which consolidates their ability to continue to operate a viable,sustainable business,that does not mean they want that business to end. I would have thought it obvious its the opposite to how you always interpret it. and i've persnally never said i don't want cheap cambridge tuesay racing. Again,i've said the opposite,so many times.Since you've forgotten i will say it yet again. If they are to run cambridge meetings with such small fields they need to run them with lower stakes so they don't keep losing money on them. i have said cambrisge racing is boring,some of the driving is questionable,that the stipes oversight is below the standard seen in the south island,that the oversight of junior drivers by the stipes is particularly poor and inconsistent,that its not a good betting product mainlyn due to small fields and will turn people off betting on harness racing,But i've never saidi wanted them not not run the lower class meetings. again,what i have said is the stakes need reduced and those involved need to lift their game.. you didn't throw in i'm anti north island racing people like you often do. I suppose thats something this time. and by the way,i have advocated for a policy that means stakes paid to winning and placed connections are reduced from those programmed,with the level of stakes being based on a sliding scale depending on the number of runners. i have said this should apply in the whole of nz. and that rating penalties should be adjusted to reflect if a horse wins a race with a stkae reduced because of a small field.Thats just common sense to me although i realise it will never happen as it makes too much sense. anyways heres my thoughts on who should run hrnz. I would replace everyone on the board and move mr steele and mr peden on.and one of the handicappers as well. then i would put in greg o'conner in mr steeles job. And put people like ceemenow from the other channel on the board and also put the likes of mark jones and michael house into positions where they can influence decision making.I would take j mckinnon out of auckland and offer him a job where he focuses on canterbury and has no auckland input. I like the way hes fought for auckland all the way through.I would even offer to fly you over as the rep for the north island trainers and drivers as you would do your best to fight for their interests. Of course we would have brodie as a consultant as hes always on the money and get nowornever to fill in for brodie whens hes on his overseas trips. Then harness racing would prosper and get back on track.

after watching it a few times,i guessed maybe pinn has a very short fuse.. i have no idea,he may be a very happy chappy,just it appeared not so in that race. If you owned or trained the horse he rode,would you appreciate it being ridden like a demolition derby car?

is it just me,or do others think w pinn was trying to deck the horse inside it on purpose,simply because it pushed him a bit wider. and besides,i once heard j mcdonald say,when explaining a turnaround in a horses formthat getting into a bumping duel can take a lot out of your horse and that when you see horses do that,you can excuse them for not performing quite as well as you may expect. if j mcdoanld thinks that,what was w pinn doing. pinn obviously rode ina manner that negatively impacted his own chances as well as it looking dangerous..

the consistent message most are saying is simple over inflate stakes now and thats certain to result in cuts in stakes later. by advocating for stakes paid to reflect funding levels as most are, means people are advocating for policies that maintain stake levels. I'm not sure why you infer that means most are anti harness racing. this thread was about mr steele's ability to give an ambiguous answer combined with words that create the impression of positivity. pointing out hes good at that,well thats because he is good at that. mr steele is a person who is in charge of making decisions that can impact the industry both negatively or positively.So when he makes decisions and statements people think are going to negatively impact the industry ,in particular prioritising some sectors over others,people are going to reference him as the person who bears responsibility for his decisions. mr steele does have a job where he will be judged on his results,not on where he comes from or whether he remained positive or not. Positive thinking always is overtaken by reality in the end. Thats juts how life works. thats incorrect.i rejected the argument you made ,that racing is funded annually,like a govt department,with that funding having to be spent within that timeframe or it is lost.. I also rejected the argument you put forward that the nz govt help fund nz racing annually.My reply to your post was that may apply in australia,i don't know whether it does or not,but i suggested if you think thats what happens in nz,then that may expalin why you make some of your comments. you mention the unhinged man winning a $100,000 golden gait race. The auckland club,being over $80m in debt,apparently thought it a great idea to fund the bulk of those races worth $1m on that night from club funds and add it to their debt.And you thought that is a good thing.And you also refer to the cambridge club adding over $100,000 in debt one year to their substanial debt ,by running slot races,was also a wonderful thing....oh well,your consistent. at the end of the day,i think you and i have different ideas on the importnance of each sector. You certainly place most value on the high achievers. I place most value on the sectors that returns the most profitabilty to the industry as undermine them and you undermine the whole business structure . We both want to see the industry prosper,just disagree on how to achieve that.

You've often referred to the low stakes in australia and have often commented that you think when and if that happens here,its just the way it is and if it comes to be as a resultr of the current financial management and decision making by current hrnz leadership,then sobeit. having said that, you also seem to have a reacurring theme of your posts,that you either a)don't seem to believe current HRNZ leadership decisions in any way influence future stake money levels or b)think better to have high stakes now and low stakes in the future,than reasonable stakes both now and in the future. possibly a bit of both a and b What comes across from your posts is you place a lot of weight when judging mr steeles performance, on the current stake levels ,especially the high end ,and his support of the auckland trotting club. so, you think most on here are negative,depressed about nz harness racing,just constant knockers,etc. well fair enough,thats your take. all i would say ,from my own perpsective(knowing you consider me one of the most negative ones),is i have always put forward alternate ideas and visions for what i thought should be hrnz priorities and have always,in different posts given a vision of how they could be implemented.So you can say what you think about the likes ofm y posts,,but to me i am telling what i think are the truths while giving solutions.. you know,most on here belived that nz harness racing was thrown a lifeline by the injection of so much money from the entain deal and that should have ensured a viable,sustainable future.. So if people think that once in a lifetime chance to resztructure and create a workable vision for the future is being squandered,then i would say you are going to get a bit of negativity.

agreed.Things aren;t going to get any better for the average person in nz. thats why Mr steele said that when things pick up,that will be reflected in increased turnovers on racing.. Things aren't going to pick up,thats just wishful thinking.But mr steele had to say that ,as it was his way of putting a positive spin on figures which weren't as positve as he had hoped. mr steele has a mind set where he believes its in his and the industries best interests that positivity is the priority,seemingly viewing it of greater importance than reality. He may have done well in leadership positions in the past , where he has been part of decision making which has produced good results.However he will find out in 18 months or so,that strategy will eventually implode if things aren't going as well as he has said they are. You mentioned on another thread gamma about we may have a govt change in november.I always think the result of elections are always predictable enough.And i can't see any change of govt at the next election. That won't happen.People just don't trust labour after the adern goverment,like they once did,even given so many more are struggling with the cost of living these days.